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PEACE OF MIND IN TROUBLED TIMES “Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.” (Ecc. 11:7-8) Here, speaking of things that he has seen under the sun, Solomon says that we not only have bright days of light and rejoicing, but also days of darkness. To add even an extra dose of gloom, he says, “All that cometh is vanity.” Now, hopefully, that doesn’t turn out to be the case in our remaining days on the earth, but we must admit that things are not looking very bright right now. We know about God’s prophetic plan and the Great Tribulation with all the horrible things that are coming on the earth, and it does appear that those things are rapidly approaching. We also know that we’re going to be called home before all of these things are fulfilled, but we have no promise that we’re going to be spared of any trouble. We’re already living in tough times, and it could get a lot tougher before the trumpet sounds.What if it does? Will we remain faithful and trust God, or will we grow fearful and tempt God? It’s totally our choice, as we shall see. No Christian has to be troubled during troubled times. We can have peace of mind and sleep through any storm that comes our way. Let me show you some ways in which this is true . . .I. PEACE FROM GOD’S PROMISESYou don’t have to be a preacher or a Bible scholar to find a few good Bible promises and claim them. Any Christian can and should have some good, solid promises from God’s word highlighted and marked in his Bible, especially promises that offer hope and assurance during troubled times, because troubled times are here and they’re going to get worse.You know, sometimes family and friends will offer comfort by saying, “It’s going to be okay,” when maybe it’s NOT going to be okay. They figure it’s better to not face the possible truth. Well, God doesn’t do that. God will tell you that the world around you just might fall apart and that things around you might NOT be okay, but YOU will be okay, if you trust God. That is, if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour by having received Him like God told you to, then you are God’s child. You are in God’s family, and God is your Father. That wasn’t the case before you were saved, but it is the case now, if you are saved. You’re IN God’s family, and God promises to take care of you.Philippians 4:19 is a great promise for the Christian: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Claim that! I might not know what my need is always going to be, but I know that God will provide it. Either that, or God lied, and we know that’s not the case.Psalms 50:14-15 is another good one: “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” That’s the deal. You live for the glory of God, not for self, and God stands ready to deliver you in times of trouble. That’s His promise, so claim it. Claim it just as you would not worry about a surprise bill for $400 when you know you have $20,000 in the bank. God SAID that you have deliverance coming. BELIEVE HIM.Psalm 46:1 is simple, yet very good: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” There isn’t anything that we’re going to face that God hasn’t already seen and considered. I read recently where someone said that when God put a calling on your life, He factored in your stupidity. Well, He also factored in all the dark days of trouble that will come your way. You will NOT be alone. Claim His presence and His deliverance.Okay, one more: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isa. 26:3) Keeping your mind on God has a way of making problems and circumstances seem very small, and God promises perfect peace to those who keep their minds on Him. I challenge you to try it this week. God doesn’t worry, and you won’t worry when your mind stays on God.There are many others, such as Matthew 6:25-34 and Psalm 91, but we’ll not labor the point further. Just remember, God promises to take care of His own, so TRUST HIM. Get yourself some promises and claim them. It will do wonders for you.II. PEACE FROM YOUR FAMILYThe family is a sacred and special thing, and it’s the oldest human institution of God. Before there was a church or a state, there was the family, going all the way back to Genesis chapter two. In fact, the whole thing started when God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” (Gen. 2:18) Handling life alone is not a good plan, so don’t even try it. Cultivate strong marriages and families, and cling to one another during tough times. It will give you a special peace that you can’t find anywhere else.We watched a movie years ago about a girl who ran away from home. During her journey away she came across an older man, a grandfather, probably one of the most beloved grandfather figures that Hollywood ever produced. In order to help the girl see the value of her family, he told her a story of how his father used to have the kids run around the yard and gather up sticks. He would then ask them to see if they could break each stick in half, and they did so easily. Then he bundled a group of sticks together and asked them to break the bundle in half. Of course, they couldn’t do so. He then said, “That’s your family. You’re always stronger with your family.” We’d do very well to remember that, especially during turbulent times.III. PEACE FROM YOUR CHURCHLook at Psalm 73. Due to worldly circumstances and wicked people, Asaph has grown very discouraged. In fact, he said in verse two that “my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.” He even said in verse sixteen, “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me.” But then we find him getting some help in verse seventeen: “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.”You see, in much of your life, YOU control things. You often control what is said, what is heard, what is done or not done. But in the house of God, you have the benefit of interacting with OTHER godly people and hearing from a godly preacher. Who knows, like discouraged Asaph, you just might get some help! You’ll certainly increase your chances. So, stay plugged in to a good church. It’s a sacred institution of God, and you’ll not forsake it, if you are wise.IV. PEACE IN PRAYERLet me give you another great promise. Get Philippians 4 and read verse six: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Alright, do you see that period at the end of verse six? That period represents FAITH. It means that I TOOK IT TO GOD IN PRAYER AND LEFT IT WITH HIM. Period. End of discussion. It’s now in His care, and I trust Him to handle it sufficiently. Because of that faith, He gives me the next verse, verse seven: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Do you want some peace in troubled times? Take your burdens to the throne of grace and LEAVE THEM. God has been fixing problems for some 6,000 years, so you aren’t going to overwhelm Him.V. PEACE FROM EXPERIENCED AND EXPERT PEOPLEProverbs 11:14 says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellers there is safety.” One of the dumbest things that people do is ask counsel from the wrong people. When Proverbs says “in the multitude of counsellors there is safety,” it refers to WISE counsellors, not idiot losers who don’t know anything! Yet, far too often, people will consult the opinion of a friend or family member just because it’s a friend or family member. Listen, when it comes to moral support and encouragement, friends and family and great, but when it’s sound advice that you need, you would do well to consult some people with experience.For example, I once overheard a woman tell her friend that she needed to have more kids so that she could get a bigger tax return. Brilliant! I’m sure that gave her some real peace.If you need peace of mind, consult with some knowledgeable people. And they don’t always have to be professionals. Paul said in II Corinthians 1:4 that some Christians go through things just so they can help others later on. If you need some comfort, talk to someone who has been through it. Find comfort in experience and expertise.VI. PEACE FROM FACTSJesus said that the truth shall set you free, and sometimes it sets you free from unnecessary worry and doubt. Just get the facts straight and stop believing every crazy thing that sails your way.Christians are the world’s worst about spreading all sorts of spooky “news” items all over the place, especially over the Internet. Every time I turn on my computer someone has sent me a message saying “Watch this before it’s taken down!” I never watch the stuff. I just delete it and move on. Why, if I believed all that mess, I’d be a nervous wreck! If global warming doesn’t kill us, then the murder hornets will. If they don’t kill us, then Bill Gates will get us with his 666 bio-chip vaccines. If that don’t happen, then the Government will make us all take the mark of the beast after all the banks run out of pocket change. I know some of that is interesting, but you can’t stand firmly on it because you can’t PROVE it. The Book says to “prove all things” (I Ths. 5:21). It doesn’t say to believe and publish every spook story on the Internet! I haven’t seen a single murder hornet, have you? I was told that the letters COVID stand for Certificate Of Verification ID, mark of the beast stuff. Any proof or documentation? No, just fearmongering and conjecture. I was told that social distancing is really about keeping 5G reception from getting mixed up. I was told that John F. Kennedy, Jr. is still alive and will be Trump’s running mate in November! Crazy stuff, I tell you!But does it offer any peace? No, just more stress and worry. Get the facts. Get some real documented answers from reliable sources. Then you can have some peace and some real confidence.VII. PEACE FROM COMMON SENSEFor instance, in times of trouble, you can ask, “Would a good and gracious God forsake me, His own child, when things get tough?” Obviously, God would never do that, so there’s your comfort. Even if you can’t think of the verses that deal with the issue, you still know that a good God will not forsake His own people. That’s just common sense. Many things work just like that. Many things are no more complicated than a common sense question. Think freely for yourself, always keeping common sense as a close companion, and you will enjoy much comfort along the way. Shun the world’s political correctness and “group think.” Pray often for godly wisdom (James 1:5) and, like Nehemiah, consult that wisdom regularly (Neh. 5:7). Your common sense from God will often give you perfect peace and assurance when this crazy world is scared to death and going nuts.Now, let me say one more thing, and I’ll be done. We’ve talked mostly about what the Bible calls the peace OF God, a special sustaining inner peace that God’s children get to rest in when they know and trust God to take care of things. But this peace OF God is not attainable until one first has another kind of peace known as peace WITH God. We find this peace in Romans 5:1: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”If you have never seen yourself as a condemned sinner in the eyes of a holy God, then you have never made peace WITH God, and you should do so immediately. Peace WITH God means that you have come to God as a helpless sinner and cried out, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). It might be that you have never done this, you have never received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour by accepting the fact that His payment for your sins in His death, burial and resurrection is your only hope for making peace WITH God. By nature, you are a declared enemy of God (Rom. 5:10), but you can make peace with God through Jesus Christ. I urge you to not turn Him away. Make peace WITH God today. Then you can rest in the peace OF God for the remainder of your days. Dark days are likely coming, but they won’t be dark for you, not if you know Jesus Christ, the Light of the World (John 8:12).“. . . when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me” (Mic. 7:8)